Co-designing Finance for Nature-Based Solutions: Methodological Insights from the Sarajevo Learning Site

This technical article presents methodological insights from the Sarajevo Learning Site within the BIOFIN-EU project, focusing on co-designing finance for Nature-based Solutions (NbS). It explores how structured stakeholder engagement can help translate ecological outcomes into investment-ready NbS by linking finance, governance, and data systems, using the Mojmilo Urban Forest in Sarajevo as a case study of systemic barriers in an urban context.

Based on a multi-stakeholder workshop held in June 2025, the analysis identifies key constraints including fragmented data systems, weak integration of NbS into planning and regulation, limited institutional capacity, low private sector engagement, and underdeveloped governance and participation mechanisms. These barriers are interdependent and indicate that financial limitations often reflect broader systemic misalignments rather than isolated issues. The co-design process enabled cross-cutting responses such as improved coordination structures, stronger analytical capacity, incentive mechanisms for private investment, and enhanced participatory governance, highlighting the role of co-design in aligning data, institutions, and stakeholders to scale NbS investment.